Portfolio Insights: The University of Rochester finished its fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, in strong financial position with operating results led by a record year for the Strong Memorial Hospital division and very positive non-operating results driven largely by capital markets performance during the year. Total net assets increased $323.5 million to nearly $3.0 billion as of June 30, 2013. In line with prior years’ operating measures, the increase to net assets from operations was $106.8 million, and the increase to net assets from non-operating activities was $168.5 million. Also during the fiscal year, the University acquired F. F. Thompson Health System, Inc. (FFT) and Pluta Cancer Center, which added another $48.3 million to consolidated net assets.

Total operating revenue increased 7.1% to $3.0 billion and was derived mostly from tuition and fees, grants and contracts, and hospital and faculty practice revenue. These three categories make up 89% of all University revenue sources and are the main financial drivers of the institution.(Source)

1) The University of Rochester’s endowment has topped $2 billion for the first time in its latest fiscal year, marking a $284.5 million increase from a year earlier. UR President Joel Seligman mentioned the strong endowment during a Town Hall with students last Tuesday, when he talked about UR’s long-term investments. The growth of UR’s endowment — bolstered by a rising stock market — is part of an upward trend in college endowments, after a tumble during the recession.

“What this does is guarantees our future in a sense. It means that we will have more resources over time for scholarships, for faculty and key projects,” said Seligman, in an interview.

A shade over $2 billion, UR’s endowment accounts for almost all of the university’s $2.13 billion in long-term investments. The totals are for the fiscal year that ended June 30. Endowments grow from donations and earnings from investment, but often the donors designate how the funds withdrawn should be used. (Source)

2) University of Rochester is a private institution that was founded in 1850. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 6,177, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 707 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. University of Rochester’s ranking in the 2015 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 33. Its tuition and fees are $46,960 (2014-15).

The University of Rochester describes itself as one of the smallest and most collegiate schools among the nation’s top research universities. The Yellowjackets mainly compete in the University Athletic Association and participate in NCAA Division III sports. The school also offers more than 200 student organizations, and about one quarter of students are affiliated with Greek life on campus. Rochester’s a cappella ensembles are among the country’s best. Freshmen and sophomores are required to live on campus, and two-thirds of the juniors and more than half of the seniors choose to remain on campus. Rochester’s main campus is located two miles south of downtown Rochester, N.Y., in the bend of the Genesee River. (Source)

3) The University of Rochester employs a full-time recycling coordinator and includes sustainability components in the campus master plan and strategic plan. The University Council on Sustainability, cochaired by the provost and senior VP for finance and administration and one of three environmentally focused committees on campus, acts as a clearinghouse for campus sustainability activities and provides support to initiatives ranging from operations to curriculum. (Source)

4) University of Rochester (N.Y.) endowment returned 12% in the fiscal year ended June 30, according to its most recent financial report. The endowment reported assets of $1.81 billion as of June 30. The target allocation as of June 30 was 37% public equities, 19% private equity/distressed, 19% real assets, 18% hedge funds, 4% fixed income and 3% cash. The actual allocation as of June 30 was 36% public equities, 22% hedge funds, 19% private equity/distressed, 16% real assets, 4% fixed income and the rest cash. (Source)

5) Thomas Farrell will be a senior vice president and chief advancement officer at the University of Rochester, which is in the midst of a $1.2 billion fund drive, the school announced today. Farrell, who took over the UI job in January 2013, is an alumnus of Rochester and worked in the advancement office there for five years at the start of his career. He will begin his new job Nov. 1.

“It is wonderful to return to my alma mater, one of the nation’s great teaching, research, academic health care, and public service universities,” Farrell said in a release.

UI Foundation officials learned of Farrell’s appointment today and the board is working “as expeditiously as possible” to name an interim president and CEO, said Jessica Hampson, interim director of communications for the UI Foundation. (Source)

About Richard C. Wilson

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